1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to coupling members for use with a recreational vehicle to attach different articles to the recreational vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to coupling members which can be conveniently connected to the awning roller bar of a recreational vehicle while parked for suspending articles from the awning roller bar.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When the occupants of a recreational vehicle reach a site where they can stay overnight or for a few days, such occupants wish to make their stay as pleasant as possible. For example, they may wish to hang potted plants around the outside periphery of the vehicle to provide the appearance of a hanging garden. Alternatively, they may wish to hang wet clothes from the recreational vehicle to give the clothes an opportunity to dry. As still another example, they may even wish to hang messages from the vehicle to communicate with friends at adjacent vehicle sites.
Many awnings used with recreational vehicles include a roller having an awning fabric attached thereto. The attachment of the awning fabric to the roller is typically made by providing the roller with internally disposed C-shaped retainer channels disposed at spaced positions around the annular periphery of the roller and extending along the axial length of the roller. An arrangement of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,332 issued to Turner on Feb. 3, 1987.
Until now, it has been difficult to accomplish objectives such as those discussed in the previous paragraphs. This has been true even though recreational vehicles are now in widespread use and even though a considerable amount of effort has been devoted in providing a satisfactory solution to the problem. The present invention provides a simple and convenient solution to the problem discussed above. In this solution, an annular roller normally used to support an awning fabric is utilized to accomplish the objectives discussed above.